


The Thousand

by orphan_account



Series: Supernatural Shorts [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen, Rabbits, Watership Down references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-01
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2018-01-02 05:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean likes rabbits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Thousand

Sam's both amused and disturbed to catch a glimpse of Dean through the window of the pet store. They'd just finished casing a strip mall for any clues regarding their newest case (a rash of identical suicides, suspected to be the work of witches), and Sam had decided to break long enough to grab them some burgers. When he stepped out of the adjacent McDonald's, he just happened to glance over and there was Dean, smiling and petting the baby bunnies huddled together for warmth in one of the glass-walled pens.  
  
It's strange, because not once has he ever seen Dean go into (or express the desire to go into) a pet store. Dean's not only allergic to most anything with fur, but he doesn't even like _dogs_ , which Sam finds totally batty. 

"Aww," he says as he walks in and stands by the pen. "Does Dean wike the wittle wabbits?" Not that he has a problem with that – he thinks it's cute. But it's always fun to poke away at the house of cards that is Dean's futilely guarded sense of machismo.  
  
"Who wouldn't love these adorable fuzzballs," Dean says without removing his hand, or even looking at Sam. He's all eyes for the baby bunnies, who nuzzle against his fingers and grind their teeth in quiet contentment as he continues to stroke their fur.  
  
"Since when do you like bunnies?"  
  
"Since always. Seriously, what's not to like? Better than those domesticated hellhounds."  
  
Sam ignores the jab at his favorite animal. "Well, they don't really _do_ anything, you know. Just sit there and eat, mostly."  
  
"Exactly. They get to eat hay, and sleep all day, and poop wherever they want, and maybe even have some wild bunny sex if they're lucky enough to come home to a friend. They get to be innocent, and happy." Dean sounds almost _wistful_.  
  
"For the ones in here, maybe," Sam demurs. "The wild ones only live two or three years, tops. Too many predators, illnesses, or – "  
  
He wishes he hadn't said anything when Dean's smile fades. "Yeah. I know. It all comes down to circumstance, huh? One little guy gets to die fat and happy, another one spends its whole life running and hiding from all the goddamn _elil_."  
  
He scratches between the ears of a tawny-colored runt, then turns away. As he paces briskly through the store's front door, Sam's not sure that he's talking about rabbits anymore.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Elil_ is a Lapine word meaning "rabbit enemies" (or literally, "the Thousand"). (In my headcanon, Dean Winchester keeps a beat-up copy of _Watership Down_ hidden in the Impala [and if I may wax even nerdier than I already am for a moment, I have to say that he and Sam share some parallels to Hazel and Fiver, at least in the earlier, healthier stage of their relationship].) Dean's always seemed surprisingly well-read to me, and since he _is_ allergic to cats and doesn't like dogs, I could see him being a proud rabbit owner in a timeline where he wasn't raised as a hunter. Then again, this could very well be the rabbit owner in me projecting.


End file.
